Case dental school begins dental assistant training program

University program only assistant training
program with dental school in Cleveland area

Beginning in July, the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental
Medicine will start offering a new
training program for dental assistants in the Greater Cleveland area.

The new program responds to a critical shortage of dental assistants—often
described as the “right hand of the dentist,” according
to Ronald Occhionero, D.D. S., associate dean of administration at the
Case dental school.

“Employment opportunities for dental assistants are excellent,” said
Occhionero. When Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dental
Medicine goes to fill its dental assistant vacancies in the school’s
dental clinics, it can take up to four months to find an available assistant
for the job, he said.

As a vital member of the dental office team, dental assistants provide
a variety of services—assisting with treatment procedures; taking
medical histories, blood pressures and pulse; teaching patients about
proper oral hygiene; taking impressions of patient’s teeth for
models of the teeth; providing follow-up instruction after surgery;
serving as the infectious disease control officer of the practice; and
helping patients feel comfortable during their office visit. Dental
assistants work in a variety of settings from the private practice to
group, hospital, public health, specialty practice or even dental school
clinics.

The yearlong, full-time program at Case offers unique opportunities
for post-high school students and adults not found in other programs
in Ohio, according to Occhionero.

The dental assistant instructional training will take place in state-of-the-art
classrooms, equipped with patient simulator technology—similar
learning equipment used by students enrolled and being trained as future
dentists. The dental assistants will gain 300 hours of professional
experience through the Case dental clinics, which host thousands of
patient visits each year, and learn to work with student, faculty and
community dentists in settings that will prepare the assistant as a
member of the professional office team. Students also will have externship
opportunities with professional dentists in the community.

The courses provide dental assistant candidates with the educational
experiences that will lead to national certification as dental assistants
as well as licensing in the State of Ohio as dental radiographers, a
specialty area that graduates from other programs obtained through continuing
education classes.

This is indeed a unique opportunity for students, too, because the
training will occur at a school of dental medicine.

Occhionero noted that one unique advantage to this dental assistant
training is that it takes place in a major dental school. Case dental
assistant students can meet and work with dental students, setting out
to establish new practices and offices, or dentists with established
practices. Students also will have the opportunity to learn, observe
and work with Case dental faculty members, who are teaching and practicing
some of the most advanced dental techniques in general dentistry and
all the dental specialties.

In addition to the dental assistant training, the Case dental school
provides a popular training program for assistants who would like to
advance their careers and become Expanded Functional Dental Auxiliaries
(EFDA). EFDAs perform preventative or restorative procedures under the
direct supervision of a dentist. Students who excel in the dental assistant
program now will have an opportunity to advance to the EFDA program,
currently only open to working dental assistants who have the recommendation
of their dental employer.

Those interested in applying must have a high school diploma or General
Equivalency Diploma (GED). They need to fill out an application and
submit it to the dental school by May 15 for the program that begins
July 25. All applicants will be required to take math, English and hand-eye
coordination skills tests.

For additional information about the dental assistant program, call
Janet Draganic, coordinator of administration, Case School of Dental
Medicine at 216-368-1900 or e-mail questions to janet.draganic@case.edu.

About Case Western Reserve University

Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering,
Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.